


Teddy Bear Blues

by Nerdygeekflower



Category: White Collar
Genre: Adoption, Christmas, Christmas Tree, F/M, Foster Care, Gen, I'm not sorry, It's a christmas Present, Kidfic, Neal is Peter and El's son, Peter and El are adorable, Pneumonia, Sickfic, THIS IS TOO CUTE, kid!Neal, sick!neal, un-beta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:38:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdygeekflower/pseuds/Nerdygeekflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal is peter and El's adopted son and this is his first Christmas with them, written as a UN-finished x-mas present for Rachel</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rachel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachel/gifts).



> This is a WIP that I wrote for Rachel (http://a-highway-to-asgard.tumblr.com/) that I didn't finish in time for Christmas :( But I will finish SOON

Peter let out a long sigh as he surveyed the Bull - pen, it was the last day of scheduled work before christmas break, and he was ready for it. Normally he was a workaholic, but ever since he and El had decided to save a three and a half year old blue eyed boy from living in a combination of Wit-sec and the foster system, Peter found himself itching to go home. When people said that children were a bundle of joy they normally meant babies, but Neal, he could only be described as a bundle of joy to Peter. He and El had always thought they wouldn’t want children, but this was different, Neal was facing being thrown into the foster system on top of what he’d already been through.

  
They had found Neal living in a wall in a Mobsters house. Apparently he had killed both of the boy’s parents, but had some problem killing the boy, but the mobster, afraid of the mouth of a three year old had taken him home. So he could watch him kill and torture other people from his three foot by three foot ‘room’ in the walls of the mobsters bed room. That and all the other things they were discovering had been done to their poor little Neal. Peter shuddered when he thought of the first time they brought Neal home and given him a gift, it was little just a stuffed Elephant that El had bought on her way home form work. The little boy had been inconsolable, he was so sure that they would harm him for some reason if he accepted the gift without deserving it. That had been the moment Peter knew they had made the right choice in taking him in. Not that he would have had it any other way, Neal had charmed the entire white collar unit in the week while the case was active. He ran his hands through his hair to pull himself out of his reserve.

  
He looked down at his watch and sighed. It was 9:00, not even half way through the day yet. He flicked on the screen of his phone and smiled at the picture he had taken of Neal and El as they were decorating the tree. Neal had on a santa hat and it flopped over one of his eyes despite the little fists pulling it up, since the three year old was so small for his age (damn that mob boss) El had her arms around Neal and a string of Christmas lights was draped around the two of them as they smiled into the camera. Peter smiled and looked up just as Diana came around the bend.

  
“Please tell me you have nothing Di.” She smiled at his moaning.

  
“Just mortgage fraud, hows Neal?” She sounded as relived as he felt about not having an urgent case.

  
“Very excited about Santa, God! I don’t know what to do! he’s so smart and El and I are debating having the neighbors write out the tags so that he won’t recognize the handwriting as us and the wrapping paper! Do we have Santa paper and paper for us?” He smiled and clicked his phone again to show her the picture. “though I think he’ll be to excited to notice.” She smiled.

  
“If you and Elizabeth need some time to figure it out Christy and I are always happy to baby-sit.” He smiled at the offer.

  
“You mean you want to steal him for an hour or two?” she smirked.

  
“Maybe.” Peter smiled, most of the team were jumping to see Neal again. Sometimes he didn’t want to share though. He slipped his phone in his pocket just as it rang. He looked at it, Elizabeth?

  
“I’m going to take this.” She shrugged.

  
“I don’t care really, no one expects any work, Hughes has been on with his wife all morning.” She gestured at his office where the boss was still on his phone. Petter nodded and slapped the phone to his ear.

  
“Hey Hon” he said cheerfully.

  
“Hey hun, Neal’s daycare called.” Peter frowned deeply, Neal could be mischievous at times but he was a sweet kid, the daycare loved him and they never got calls.  
“What happened?” He could actually hear El bite her lip. It was cute when she did that, she was in all honesty, cute when she worried.

  
“He’s- Hun you know that little cough he’s had?” Peter didn’t think he could have frowned deeper. He was wrong. Neal had been a little stuffy over the past few days, but the kid was so up beat and excited Peter hadn’t thought anything about it. Plus it was winter and who wasn’t stuffy?

  
“Yes?”

  
“He has a slight fever the daycare is sending him home, it’s probably nothing- just thought I’d let you know?” she let out a cute little humorless laugh near the end.

  
“It’s fine Hon.” Peter found himself checking his watch for the second time in the past eight minutes. “No, you’re right, thanks for calling, keep me posted.”

  
“Of course hun.”

  
“Love you.”

  
“Love you too.” Peter and El clicked from the call at the exact same time. Peter again found his hands rubbing his face. If he thought the day would crawl before…

* * *

  
Peter called it an early one and no one argued, heck most people were already gone. He headed to the car at a pace that wasn’t quit running but couldn’t really be called walking either. He sat heavily in his car and winced when there was a loud squeak and a pain in his rear. He stood again looking down to find the little rubber duck he had bought on his way into work that morning when he had passed it on his way into a coffee shop. Why had he bought a duck? He picked it up and smiled, it wasn’t like a normal rubber duck which is why he bought it, he found most rubber duckies down right horrifying but this one had abnormally large eyes, he squeezed it and it made a long squeak. As soon as he started the car his dashboard reared to life with the same picture as his phone, El was calling him. He smiled, yeah Neal was going to love that duck. It amazed him how simple the kid was, Neal had been entertained for hours when a probie showed him how he could split paper with a table and a gentle touch. Finally a kid who appreciated simple over complex. Neal could simply watch someone draw and be entranced. They didn’t even have to be good. He pressed a button on the steering wheel as he pulled on to the road.

  
“Hey hon. I’m on my way right now.”

  
“Hey hun, could you stop at the drugstore and pick up some things?”

  
“Of course what is it you need?”

  
“Children's Tylenol, cough syrup, and some lollipops.” She recited in quick succession.Peter dug in his glove compartment, stopped at a light to write it down,

  
“How’s Neal?”

  
“He’s Okay.” Peter nodded

  
“Alright bye, hon.”

  
“Bye hun.” She hung up, sounding distracted. Peter willed the red light to turn.

* * *

  
Peter arrived home late for someone who left the office early. Bags in hand he opened the door.

  
“Ho-!”

  
“-If you yell and wake him I will take our child and leave you.” Elizabeth said before he could finish his first word. Neal and Elizabeth were cuddled together on the couch. The only light in the room was coming from the lit tree and the Tv which was playing something with elephants, which had become Neal’s favorite animal since the first gift on the first day from El. The elephant she had given him’s name was Leo and he was Neal’s security blanket, and it was curled in his little arms where he slept nested in El’s legs. There were several fleecy blankets mixed in the mess on the couch as well. El had put on the humidifier he could hear why in Neal’s breathing. He set down his bags and couldn’t help his smile, he never thought he’d love coming home to a snotty toddler before.

  
“How is he?” El sighed and ran her fingers through the sweaty black curls. She frowned.

  
“Oh hun thank god you’re here, his fever’s up…” Peter frowned heading over to settle on the armrest, which he normally wouldn’t do since it was bad for the couch, but he deemed this extenuating circumstances.

  
“I thought you said he was okay?” He laid his hand on Neal’s head. It was warm.

  
“I wanted you safe on the roads you know how you drive, and I don’t need to worry about both my boys.” She smiled up at him and he planted a kiss on her.  
“I’ll get the thermometer.” he said making for the bathroom.

  
“Oh, no need it’s on the coffee table.” She said moving as little as possible to point out where it was.

  
“Ah. And that’s why I married you for the brains.”

  
“You’re the brawn I’m the Brains.” Peter made for the table almost tripping over Satchamo on his way, the old dog was spread out as close to the couch as he could be without being on it. The dog had the very sad dog look he piped his head up to look around when Peter’s foot touched him. Peter smiled, Satch seemed to be keeping watch. Peter scoped the thermometer up and gave the dog a scratch.

  
“You keeping everybody safe Satch?” The dog made a little noise, that sounded like he liked that scratch and wanted more. but one of his humans wasn’t okay so Satch, being a very good boy, couldn’t allow himself to enjoy the scratch. Peter handed the small item to his wife and found his perch again. He was about to rouse Neal when El was able to slip the end of the thermometer in the child’s mouth. She half smiled at him, as the instrument beeped.

  
“102.4” El bit her lip and looked up at Peter.

  
“I’ll call Diana.” El looked confused.

  
“Christie is a Pediatrician.” Peter said realizing that calling what was essentially the muscle of his team of FBI agents didn’t make sense when you had a sick child on your hands. El nodded and began to rouse Neal, who was a light sleeper for a toddler.

  
“Neal, sweetie, hey, hey wake up for me honey? There you go, how are you feeling?” Neal curled even further into El.

  
“N’ Tiderd” Diana picked up on the third ring, being a very good agent. Peter began to step away only to be met with a little hand. “Pe’no’ sta” Peter’s lips twitched in both directions, as he wanted to smile at the sentiment and frown at the way Neal sounded.

  
“Boss?”

  
“Hey Di, could you put Christie on?”

  
“What?”

  
“It’s Neal….” The next voice he heard did not belong to special agent Dianna Barigan.

  
“Hello? Peter?”

  
“Hello Christie, Diana has probably told you about my…. Neal, and he’s not feeling well and…”

  
“Calling your friend’s girlfriend is quicker than the hospital?” She chuckled as if Peter was used to being a parent, and this was normal.

  
“Yeah….”

  
“Does he have a fever?” She asked, suddenly all business and no pleasure.

  
“Yes it’s um… Hon?” El was rocking Neal and trying to soothe him.

  
“102.4” El said rubbing Neal’s chest as he coughed, it wasn't a sound peter wanted to ever hear come from such a small body. 

  
“102 point-”

  
“Take him to the hospital.”

  
“What?”

  
“He’s a toddler and his fever is over 102?”

  
“Neal is three…”

  
“Hospital, he could have febrile seizures he’s past the danger point for his age honestly for most 102 is where we recommend hospitals.”

  
“Thank’s Christie, thank you this is good okay…” Peter nodded to himself now that he knew what to do, it wasn't good. But heknew what to do and the was something. 

  
“okay and Peter?”

  
“Yeah?”

  
“Call me if you need anything okay?”

  
“Thanks…” He hung up and looked at El.

  
“Hospital?” “Hospital” They said the word at the same time with different intonations. El sighed and kissed Neal on the top of his head.

  
“Baby, Neal sweetie…” Neal looked up at both is adoptive parents.

  
“Leo come too?” Neal used a voice that sounded like cracked drywall, but very cute cracked dry wall as he held up the elephant. El smiled and wrapped the sweaty toddler in a coat and a pair of new Pajamas as Peter warmed up the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoopsie Not dead :)  
> HA a Christmas present (I am so sorry Rachel)  
> here is chapter 2 and thank you all for the lovely support and immediate response on this it was kinda awesome.

The ride to the hospital and the first hour and a half there was to say the least the most terrifying and horrible of Peter’s life. They were forced to wait in a waiting room and try to soothe a three year old who was coughing himself to tears. The only redeeming part of the brief stint in the waiting room was that they had found to chairs next to each other with no arm rest so they could both cradle Neal and soothe him. That was around the time his lips went a bit off and Peter got up to bother the nurse behind the desk. The way El’s voice sounded when she screamed out that Neal had stopped breathing rang in Peter’s head for days after. They got a very fast response when that was happening. El had to be brought to a private waiting room to calm down. Peter went with her and brought coffee. She drank it faster than he had ever seen her drink.  
  
They were sitting holding both hands together when a doctor came to get them. It was long words and more anxiety from then on. They were also told that he had pneumonia, and that it had set in fast due to the fact that he was still slightly underweight. This earned them a heavy look from the doctor. They had been trying to get Neal’s weight up since he had only been feed just enough when he was living… living… Peter didn’t really want to think about that right now, there was too much else. Those sort of things didn’t happen over night though and Neal was still a little bit light. He didn’t eat much for a toddler, they were told by child services that prolonged starvation decreased appetite so it was just a matter of time. In any case it hadn’t helped with the pneumonia and it became obvious that Neal had been feeling worse then he let on, which worried Peter in a different way since the boy was so eager to please all the time. He didn’t want to think about how illness had been treated in the past.

  
    All this information was presented to Peter by a doctor whose skills at arranging and presenting information to a stressed out and worried mother-hened out couple was about as good as his handwriting. Peter was sure that Neal was dying. Finally the man stopped with the medical shakespeare speech and they were able to ask the only question they needed.  
    “Can we see him?”

* * *

  
Neal looked so small in the hospital bed. So pale. There were monkeys on his child-size hospital gown. El gently smoothed his hair and tucked in Leo along side him. There were a few little wires running around, and Peter was positive that sometime in his speech the doctor had explained the uses inner workings and a brief history of their inventors. Peter sat on the foot of the bed looking down at the little face drowned in the mask supplying him with air.

  
    “How did we miss this?” El looked up from where she was arranging Neal’s pillows to be in a better place, smoothing his hair and tucking leo up so Neal could lean into him.

  
    “We aren’t bad parents Peter just new ones.” She looked over at her husband before kicking off her shoes to settle on the side of the bed. Peter took a second before he did the same. Neal curled in toward Peter, who looked at his wife with a panicked face. She smiled and stroked Neal’s hair again. The three year old’s eyes drifted apart and he looked up at them through a haze of fever and something a little more potent than the child's Tylenol El had been giving him all day.

  
    “mmmmm Daddy?” Neal turned to Peter and pressed his face into the senior FBI agent’s chest. Peter froze again.

  
    “Hun.” El said sternly but with amusement. “We adopted him.” Peter looked at her and listened to the urging in her voice. Peter nodded. He would never be Neal’s father. But he was his dad.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awwwwwwwww  
> Yeah OKAY sorry it should be a bit longer but that is such a cUTE ending!!! the next chapter will likely time skip to the end of Neal's stay in the hospital but I don't know yet.  
> Tell me what you think and it will give me motivation to write the next chapter faster. I'm not kidding it helps A LOT so if you love/hate it give me the love/hate.

**Author's Note:**

> TBC  
> I'm hoping to make this the beginning to a 'Teddy bear verse' but we will see how that goes, It probably won't becasue I am too lazy for words but I may go back and expand on events mentioned....


End file.
